The present invention relates exclusively to the field of mail processing and more particularly to a system for maintenance of the take-up rollers of an automatic document feeder for a folding/insertion machine.
Regular maintenance of a folding/insertion machine is essential for guaranteeing long-term functioning thereof. More particularly, maintenance of the take-up rollers for feeding documents, envelopes, inserts, is primordial for the drive, folding and insertion of these various pieces to be optimum without damaging or soiling them despite a drive speed which is nonetheless high.
In effect, in a mail processing assembly which incorporates a folding/insertion machine at the outlet of a laser or ink jet printer, the take-up rollers may be subject to premature wear and be fouled fairly rapidly (in principal they are rubber-coated) insofar as, contrary to the functioning of a standard printer, different types of articles (documents, envelopes, inserts) of various characteristics (gsm""s, formats, materials) may be used.
This results in numerous drawbacks, such as false departures of documents, defects in selection (multiple selections for example), jammings or askew foldings.
It is an object of the present invention to overcome the drawbacks set forth hereinabove, by providing a maintenance device for periodically cleaning the take-up rollers so as to guarantee an improvement in the feed of the different pieces processed, a reduction in the risks of jamming and a preservation of the cleanness and the physical characteristics of the take-up rollers.
This object is achieved by a device for maintaining the take-up rollers of the document feeders in a folding/insertion machine, characterized in that it comprises a sheet imbibed with a liquid maintenance product and intended to be entrained inside said machine by said take-up rollers, said self-cleaning sheet comprising retaining means for stopping its advance in said machine and for allowing it to be withdrawn once said take-up rollers of the feeder are stopped.
With this device which eliminates manual cleaning, the present risks run by users resulting from the use of specific cleaning products are considerably reduced. In addition, the use of an automatic procedure through the user interface of the machine enables this maintenance operation to be systematized, thus prolonging the life of the machine. Finally, the use of a maintenance product whose efficiency is lesser, as it is standard, reduces the danger of inhalation of toxic vapours.
Said retaining means comprise a retaining rod disposed perpendicularly with respect to a direction of introduction of said self-cleaning sheet, and advantageously fixed at the level of a transverse edge of said self-cleaning sheet. This self-cleaning sheet is preferably of A4 format.
The present invention also relates to the process of maintenance associated with this device, in which said maintenance device is firstly introduced in the take-up rollers of a first feeder to be cleaned, by its transverse edge not provided with retaining means, then said retaining means are returned into abutment against a front edge of the feeder, and, finally, said take-up rollers are driven in rotation by general drive means of the machine until said rollers slip, this resulting from the stop of the advance of said self-cleaning sheet inside the machine, provoked by said retaining means.